Vigorous retelling of Homer's Iliad, relating the incidents of the great siege of Troy, from the quarrel of the chiefs to the ransoming of Hector's body. Ages 8-12

172 pages

$9.95

HOW HECTOR AND AJAX FOUGHT

[101] ATHENE was very sorry to see how her dear
Greeks were being killed by Hector and
his companions. So she flew down from
the heights of Olympus to see whether
she could help them. When she had come
to the plains of Troy she met
Apollo. Now Apollo loved the Trojans,
and said to her: "Are you come,
Athené, to help the Greeks whom
you love? Now I, as you know, love
the Trojans. Let us therefore join
together and stop them from fighting for
to-day. Hereafter they shall fight till
that which the Fates have settled
for Troy shall come to pass."

Athené answered: "How shall we
stop them from fighting?" Apollo
said: "We will set on Hector to challenge
the bravest of the Greeks to fight
with him, man to man."

So these two put the thought into the
[102] mind of the prophet Helĕnus. So
Helĕnus went up to Hector and
said: "Hector, listen to me; I am your
brother, and also the gods have
made me a prophet, so that you should
take heed to the things which I say.
Now my advice is this: cause the men of
Troy and the Greeks to sit down in
peace, and do you challenge the bravest
of the enemy to fight with you, man
to man. And be sure that in this fight
you will not be killed, for so much
the gods have told me; but whether you
will kill the other, that I do not
know, for the gods have not told me."

This pleased Hector greatly, and he went
to the front of the army, holding
his spear by the middle, and keeping the
Trojans back. And King Agamemnon
did the same with his own people. Then
Hector said:

"Hear me, sons of Troy, and ye men of
Greece. The covenant which we made
together was broken. Truly this was not
my doing; the gods would have it
so, for it is their will that we should
fight together, till either you take
our city or we drive you back to your
ships, and compel you to go back to
your own land. And yet listen to what I
[103] shall now say, for it may be that the gods
will repent and suffer peace to be
made between us. Do you Greeks choose
out from those who are strongest and
bravest among you some one to fight with
me, man to man. And let this be
agreed between us: if this man shall
conquer me, then he shall take my arms
for himself, but he shall give back my
body to my people that they may burn
it with fire. And in like manner, if I
shall conquer him, then I will take
his arms for myself, but I will give his
body to his people that they may
bury it and raise a great mound over it.
And so in days to come men who
shall see it, as they sail by, will say:
'This is the tomb of the bravest
of the Greeks, whom Hector of Troy
killed in battle, fighting him man to
man.' So my name will be remembered for
ever."

When the Greeks heard these words, they
all stood still, saying nothing.
They feared to meet the great Hector in
battle, for he seemed to be stronger
than he had ever been before, but they
were ashamed to hold back. Then
Menelaüs jumped up in his place and
cried: "Surely now ye are women
and not
[104] men. What a shame it is to Greece that
no one can be found to fight with
this Hector! I will fight with him my
own self, for the gods give the
victory to one man or to another as they
will."

So spoke Menelaüs, for he was very
angry, and did not care whether he
lived or died. And, indeed, it would
have been his death to fight with Hector,
who was by much the stronger of the two.
But King Agamemnon would not
suffer him to be so rash. "Nay, my
brother," he said, "this is but folly.
Seek not to fight with one who is much
stronger than you. Even Achilles was
not willing to meet him. Sit still,
therefore, for the Greeks will find
some champion to meet him."

And Menelaüs hearkened to his
brother's words and sat down. But when
no one stood up to offer himself to
fight with Hector, old Nestor rose in
his place and said: "Now this is a sad
day for Greece! How sorry old
Peleus would be to hear of this thing.
I remember how glad he was when I
told him about the chiefs who were going
to fight against Troy, who they
were and whence
[105] they came. And now he would hear that
they are all afraid when Hector
challenges them to fight with him man to
man. He would pray that he might
die. Oh, that I were such as I was in
the old days, when the men of Pylos
fought with the men of Arcadia. The men
of Arcadia had a great champion,
who was the strongest and biggest of all
the men of that day, and carried
the most famous arms in Greece, and a
club of iron such as no one else could
wield. And when this man challenged the
men of Pylos to fight with him, the
others, indeed, were afraid, for the man
was like a giant; but I stood up,
though I was the youngest of them all,
and Athené stood by me and
gave me great glory, for I slew him, and
took from him his arms and his
great iron club. Oh! that I were now
such as I was that day! Hector
would soon find some one to fight with
him."

When old Nestor sat down, nine chiefs
stood up. First among them was King
Agamemnon, and after him Diomed and Ajax
the Greater and Ajax the Less and
Ulysses, and four others. Then said
Nestor: "Let
[106] us cast lots to see who of these nine
shall fight with Hector."

So the nine chiefs threw their lots,
each man a lot, into the helmet of King
Agamemnon. And the people standing
round prayed silently to the gods:
"Grant that the lot of Ajax the Greater
may leap first out of the helmet, or
the lot of Diomed, or the lot of King
Agamemnon." Then Nestor shook the
helmet, and it came to pass that the lot which
first leapt forth was that very one
which they most desired. For when the
herald carried it round to the chiefs
no one took it for his own, till the man came
to Ajax the Greater. But Ajax had
marked it with his own mark; he put out
his hand, therefore and claimed it.
He was very glad in his heart, and he
threw down the lot at his feet and
cried: "The lot is mine, my friends,
and I am glad above measure, for I
think that I shall conquer this mighty
Hector. And now I will put on my
arms. And do you pray Father Zeus,
silently, if you will, that the Trojans
may not hear; or if you had rather pray
aloud, then do so, for I fear no
man. None shall conquer me either by
force
[107] or by craft, for the men of
Salamis"—it was from the island of
Salamis
he came—"are not to be conquered."

So Ajax put on his armour. And when he
finished, he went forward, as
dreadful to look at as the god of war
himself, and there was a smile on his
face, but it was not the smile that
other men like to see. Taking great
strides he went, and he shook his great
spear. And when the Trojans saw him
their knees trembled beneath them, and
even the great Hector felt his heart
beat more quickly than before. But he
showed no fear, and stood firmly in
his place, for he himself challenged his
adversary.

So Ajax came near, holding his great
shield before him, as it might be a
wall. There was no such shield in all
the army of the Greeks. It had seven
folds of bull's-hide, and one fold, the
eighth, of bronze. Then Ajax spoke
in a loud voice: "Come near, Hector,
that you may see what men we have
among us, we Greeks, though the great
Achilles is not here, but sits idle in
his tent."

Hector answered: "Do not speak to me,
Ajax, as though I were a woman or a
[108] child, and knew nothing of war. I know
all the arts of battle, to turn my
shield this way and that to meet the
spear of the enemy, and to drive my
chariot through the crowds of men and
horses, and to fight hand to hand.
But come, let us fight openly, face to
face, as honest men should do."

And as he spoke he threw his great spear
at Ajax. Through six folds of
bull's-hide it passed, but the seventh
stopped it, for all that it was so
strongly thrown. It was no easy thing
to pierce the great shield with its
seven folds. But when Ajax, in his
turn, threw his spear at Hector, it
passed through his shield, and through
the armour that covered his body, and
through the garment that was under the
armour. It went near to killing him,
but Hector bent his body away, and so
saved himself. Then each took a fresh
spear, and ran together as fiercely as
lions or wild boars. Again did Hector
drive his spear against the great
shield, and again did he drive it in
vain, for the spear point was bent back.
But Ajax, making a great leap from
the ground, pierced Hector's shield with
his spear, and pushed him back from
the place
[109] where he stood, and the spear point
grazed his neck, so that the blood
spirted
out. Then Hector caught up a great
stone that lay upon the ground and threw
it. And yet once more the great shield
stayed him, nor could he break it
through, and the stone which Ajax threw
was heavier by far, and it broke
Hector's shield and bore him to the
ground, so that he lay on his back upon
the ground, with the broken shield over
him. Truly it had fared ill with
him but that Apollo raised him up and set him
on his feet. Then the two warriors
drew their swords, but before they could
get close together, the two heralds
came up and thrust their staves between
them. And the Trojan herald said:
"It is enough, my sons; fight no more;
you are great warriors both of you,
and Zeus loves you both. But now the
night is at hand, and bids you cease,
and you will do well to obey."

HECTORAND AJAX SEPARATEDBYTHE HERALDS

Then said Ajax: "Yes, herald; but it
is for Hector to speak, for he began
this matter, challenging the bravest of
the Greeks to fight with him. And
what he wills, that I will also."

[110] Hector said: "The herald speaks well.
Verily the gods have given you, O
Ajax, stature and strength and skill.
There is no better warrior among the
Greeks. Let us cease then from
fighting; haply we may meet again
another
day, and the gods may give victory to
you or to me. But now let us give
gifts to each other, so that the Trojans
and Greeks may say, 'Hector and
Ajax met in battle, but parted in
friendship.' "

So Hector gave to Ajax a silver-studded
sword, with a scabbard and a belt,
and Ajax gave to Hector a buckler
splendid with purple. So they parted.
And the Trojans were right glad to see
Hector coming back safe from the
battle; on the other hand, the Greeks
rejoiced yet more, for indeed their
champion had prevailed. And King
Agamemnon called all the chiefs to a
feast, and to Ajax he gave the chine.
The Trojans also feasted in their
city. But Zeus sent thunder all that night
to be a sign of trouble to come.

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